Love Story
by wfea
Summary: Sam explains to Danny how they met at one of her parent's balls in the time of kings and castles, even though he doesn't seem to remember. Songfic to "Love Story" by Taylor Swift.


Here's a predictable, unrealistic love story out there for all you romantics. I started it long ago, but lost inspiration for it. Now, after coming back to it after reading like six romance novels, I finished it in an afternoon basically.

**Disclaimer**: I own no rights to the song _Love Story _or the show _Danny Phantom._

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Samantha Manson looked into the deep blue eyes of her husband, reminiscing the wonderful moments they'd shared together for the past three years. It was hard to imagine for Sam that they'd already been married for that long. Had college really come and gone so fast?

"What are you staring at?" Danny asked her.

Sam smiled. "You. I'm just having fun remembering how we met."

Danny's eyebrow arched. "You really remember it that much? It wasn't really that special a happening was it?"

Sam gasped. "Of course it was! How can you say that?"

"Sam, we met on the college campus. My second class that day just happened to be canceled and I just happened to be sitting on that bench when you walked by. I had never even been on that side of the campus before."

Sam was confused. "What are you talking about? We didn't meet at college."

Danny smiled a sarcastic smile. "Oh yeah, then where did we meet?"

Sam's eyes lit up. She smiled and began to tell her story.

_**We were both young when I first saw you  
I closed my eyes and the flashback starts  
I'm standing there  
On a balcony in summer air  
**_

"Samantha, don't you want attend the dance?"

Sam, decked with a long flowing purple and gold nightgown, turned away from watching the sun set behind the trees near the castle and cast a looked at her mother. "No. I never enjoy attending those dances you throw, Mother."

Her mother sighed and a sad smile shone on her face. "Yes, I realize that, but Samantha, you're eighteen and you don't even seem concerned that every other girl in the realm has a wedding planned for the fall besides you." The woman placed her hands on Sam's shoulders. "That's why we throw so many of these parties you know—so you can meet your future husband."

Sam wriggled out of her mother's grip and turned back to the balcony. "I know, Mother, but maybe I don't want to be the wife of one of the guys that come to your parties. Shallow, mean-spirited, ruthless, looking for a woman easy on the eyes with no depth."

"They're not all—"

"Yes, they are," Sam interrupted. "Go away. I'll come down if I feel like it."_****_

See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns  
I see you make your way through the crowd  
And say hello  
Little did I know  


Dressed in a purple ball gown embellished with gold jewels, Sam stepped into the ballroom. She didn't know why, but every time her parents held one of these balls she always ended up attending it for at least a short time.

In the corner, she spotted some of the less wealthy people of the kingdom. They were her best friends. People like Princess Paulina who acted too important to talk to people with less money than her got on her nerves. Unfortunately, Paulina didn't realize that, and Sam seemed to be who she loved talking to.

Thankfully though, Paulina was caught up on the dance floor at the moment, draped over a blond guy. Sam was pretty sure his name was Dash. His was one of the more wealthy families around and she had never been much interested with him.

Sam quickly paced across the ballroom, smiling and waving at people as they smiled and waved at her. "Valerie. Tucker. Hey."

"Hey yourself. Well, don't you look stunning? Hoping to pick up your husband this evening?" Valerie asked as she fingered the ring on her left hand. Sam smiled at the happy couple, but shook her head no.

"You know me better than that, Val."

The music shifted from upbeat to slow and shifted dance styles and Valerie and Tucker politely excused themselves. Sam turned and watched them go, mesmerized by all the beautiful colors turning on the floor. Every person had someone to dance with except her. Of course, she really didn't care. Men were close to meaningless with her.

Her eyes fell onto someone walking across the dance floor. He wasn't dancing; he was walking a straight line towards her. His eyes shone blue and his raven black hair was set in a perfectly messy style. His smile lit up his entire face.

"Hello," he greeted right before coming to a complete stop in front of her.

"Hello," Sam responded, bowing elegantly as she'd been taught. "I'm afraid I've never met you around here." There was something about this guy…something that caught her up.

"Likewise," the man agreed. "Danny."

"Sam."

"Well, Sam, what is a beautiful girl like your self doing standing around not dancing?" Sam smiled.

"Maybe no one's asked me," she ventured, while her mind raced. Why had she just answered like that? It's not as if she _wanted_ to dance.

"Then, would you like to dance?" Danny asked.

Sam hesitated not in answering.

"Of course."_****_

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles  
And my daddy said, "stay away from Juliet"  
And I was crying on the staircase  
Begging you, please don't go  
And I said  


Song after song Danny swung Sam around and around. Sam had never felt so alive before. Her mother didn't ignite this feeling in her and neither did her father. Valerie and Tucker were wonderful friends and her wealth bought her all the goods she'd every need and more, but neither of those things were as fulfilling as being held by this man.

He made her laugh, made her happy to be alive. She could feel her eyes dancing as they held his, and his were dancing all the same. The dim lighting of the ballroom set a perfect scene into place and Sam would've and could've stayed dancing with this man for the rest of her life.

Then, of course, someone stepped in between the two. Sam felt herself grow angry. How could someone ruin her most special moment?

"Samantha, what are you doing?" Sam looked up and realized it was her father. Her anger doubled.

"Father, I—"

"Come here," he demanded and yanked her by the arm into a corner of the ballroom. Sam let her eyes drift back towards Danny's, whose were filled with sadness. "What is the meaning of this?"

"What do you mean? You and Mother insist that I find a guy to dance with and when I finally do you yank me away!" Sam exclaimed, furious.

"How is it that of all the guys…" he muttered under his breath. "That is Daniel _Fenton, _Samantha."

Fenton. That name meant something to the Mansons. They were the family on the opposite end of the kingdom who hated her family. The families were always in continuous warfare. Contact with them was strictly prohibited.

But if Danny was one of them…he was so nice and so wonderfully amazing! How could he be a Fenton? Sam sneaked a peak back at the dance floor where Danny was standing, sending a glare at her father's head. They couldn't all be bad if Danny was one of them. A name was a name, right? Nothing more. Sam looked her father in the eye.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that. I'll stay away from him."

Her father smiled. "That's a good girl. I'll go give him a warning."_****_

Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone  
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run  
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess  
** It's a love story  
Baby, just say yes**

So, I sneak out to the garden to see you  
We keep quiet cause we're dead if they knew  
So close your eyes  
Escape this town for a little while  


When Sam's father finally left poor Danny Fenton alone, she made her way toward him inconspicuously. She brushed by his shoulder—"Excuse me, Sir"—and continued walking toward the gleaming double doors at the back of the ballroom. Once she had her hand positioned on the door handle she turned around.

Danny was watching her, waiting for her to make a move. She smiled and continued on her way out the door. Her next step was onto a stone floor. She glanced left and right and quickly made her decision. Left. The garden.

She moved quietly and quickly, but not too fast. She wanted to make sure Danny could still catch her. At the end of the hallway she opened a small, yet still elegant, door. This time she stepped onto a stone path.

She took hold of the lantern hanging by the door and followed the path to where it ended. She was in the thick of the garden. She smiled and glanced behind her. Hearing only the soft pad of footsteps, she turned and faced the path._****_

Oh oh  
Cause you were Romeo, I was the scarlet letter  
And my daddy said, "stay away from Juliet"  
But you were my everything to me**  
I was begging you, please don't go  
And I said**

Not seconds later, Danny Fenton walked around a rose bush at a bend in the trail. His eyes were filled with searching until they found hers. A smile lit his face on fire and happiness danced through his eyes.

"I was afraid you were running."

"I was," Sam answered. She stepped closer as he continued toward her. They met in each other's arms. "From my parents."

Danny embraced her for a moment, then pulled away and set his hand on the small of her back. With his other, he took her hand and they began to twirl slowly. The feelings from the dance floor came rushing back and Sam couldn't breathe for a moment she was so consumed.

"I like it out here better," Danny mused. He titled her backward. "It's much more private."

"Mmm…" Sam wasn't entirely sure what he was saying, but she was pretty certain it was good.

It was then that he leaned over and kissed her.

It wasn't a full out kiss, but rather a slow and steady kiss, one full of hesitation, as if he wasn't sure about his moves, let alone her reaction. She tried to eliminate his worry by kissing him back just as tenderly as his lips were placed on hers. It was then that he erupted and kissed her with a full-fledged passion.

Mere seconds passed before he pulled back and gasped.

"What?" Sam asked. But when she opened her eyes, she knew. The sun was moving up over the eastern sky. She had to get inside and he had to get home. Sam pouted.

Danny noticed and smiled. "I'll meet you on the edge of town at sunset," he instructed. He kissed her forehead. "I promise."

"You don't have to go," Sam told him.

He simply smiled and uttered the three words that made her fall to pieces. "Yes, I do."__

_**Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone  
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run  
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess  
It's a love story  
Baby, just say yes**_

_**Romeo, save me  
They try to tell me how I feel  
This love is difficult, but it's real  
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess  
It's a love story  
Baby, just say yes**_

_**Oh oh**_

She waited until he had disappeared before allowing the tears to cascade down her face. What was this feeling…this feeling of being wanted and cared about and this feeling of wanting and caring? Sam had cared for hardly anything in her life, but now she would throw all the things she'd cared for before in a massive fire if it would mean spending just another hour with Danny Fenton.

They were in a mess, and she knew it. Her parents would wonder where she'd gone to and her father would take notice of Danny Fenton's absence and draw one conclusion. She had to get back to her room before it was too late.

Sadly, and with a strength borrowed from someone else, Sam put one foot in front of the other. It hurt worse than she'd thought it would, but she knew she had to make it work. Her other foot moved. Then she repeated the motion. Before she knew it, she was moving at a steady pace toward the closest door and eventually to her bedroom.

Later on that day, Sam was dressed in a nightgown and lying on her bed with the curtains drawn shut when her parents walked in. They took note of the darkened room but made no move toward the curtains as she figured they would. Instead, they moved to her bedside.

"Samantha, are you feeling ill?" her mother asked.

"No."

"You've barely said a word or eaten a thing since the dance," her father observed. "Are you certain you're fine?"

"Yes."

She felt a hand on her back. "Your father told me about you and that Fenton boy dancing together, Samantha. I must say that I'm shocked that you picked him to dance with, but I'm so very glad that you walked away."

"Yes, that was the best decision you've ever made. You can't have feelings for a man like that. He and his family are wretched people," her father asserted.

Her mother picked up again. "We'll have a few _eligible _bachelors come by later on today, Samantha, so you can pick out your real love."

With that, the two worst people in Sam's life walked out the door, convinced they'd just helped their daughter for life.

Of course, Sam only felt worse now. Her parent's were attempting to rule her life, and if it weren't for her meeting Danny later on that day, she would've killed herself to get out of that meeting with the men of her parents choosing.

There was only one thing ruling Sam's decision to meet Danny tonight—love, that had to be that feeling she'd been experiencing the entire time with Danny. There was no other explanation. She couldn't picture anything holding her back from seeing him again.

Not her parent's rules, the mess they'd be in later, and especially not the other guys she was supposed to meet. __

_**I got tired of waiting  
Wondering if you were ever coming around  
My faith in you is fading  
When I met you on the outskirts of town  
And I said  
**_

Sam ground her teeth around in her mouth and checked the positioning of the sun in the sky. It had almost sunken below the horizon and still Danny hadn't come. She stood up and twirled in the direction she'd come, causing the knee-length black dress she was wearing to swish around.

What was she thinking? Just because they'd met the night before and seemed to have something special together didn't mean that he'd hold his word about coming to meet her the next day. He had probably gotten home and wondered what he was thinking falling in love with a Manson.

He'd been caught up in the emotions of the night before when he asked her to meet him. That was it. The sun was sinking faster with each passing minute and still there was not a sign of Danny Fenton on the horizon.

She was _not _one to wait around on a guy—especially not guys who were just the same predictable mess as any other guy she'd ever met.

She began to stalk off towards her castle when she heard it…a sharp whistle. It was too precise and directed to be animalistic, so it caught Sam's attention and she stopped.

Curious beyond belief and holding her breath, hoping against hope that it would be Danny behind her, Sam turned. And there he was in the flesh: Danny Fenton._****_

Romeo, save me  
I've been feeling so alone  
I keep waiting for you, but you never come  
Is this in my head  
I don't know what to think  
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring  
And said  


He was running like the wind in an attempt to reach her before it was too late. Sam could tell that the purpose behind every footstep was to get closer to her and her alone.

So she began running toward him. Faster than she'd ever run before, she ran. She had to make it to him just as he had to make it to her. No physical force on this earth could stop her from running.

When their hands touched it wasn't seconds later that Danny pulled her into an embrace. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I had an errand to run."

For a second Sam was mad. She pulled back and set a hard glare onto her face. How dare he put an errand before her? If he had really wanted to see her as badly as he made it seem the night before, then she should've been the number one priority in his life.

But what he showed her took her breath away.

A diamond ring._****_

Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone  
I love you and that's all I really know  
I talked to your dad  
Go pick out a white dress  
It's a love story  
Baby, just say yes  


Danny sunk slowly to one knee and held the ring up for Sam to get a better look. Tears spilled from her eyes and she felt mad at herself. How could she have let a guy get to her this much? But just as quickly the answer was laid out plain before her.

She was the female role in a love story.

"Sam, I met you last night, but it feels like I've know you my entire existence. You're family hates me, but for some reason, I don't think you do. So, if you'd like, would you take me as your husband tonight?"

"Tonight?" Sam asked, through tears of joy.

"Tonight, Sam. I don't want another second to pass before I can claim you as my own."

Sam took Danny's hand and pulled him up off the ground. Holding his shoulders with her hands, she said, "I don't either."

_**Oh oh oh  
Oh oh oh oh**_

Sam was finished with her story, and looking expectantly at her husband, waiting for the moment he would remember their meeting. There was a silly smile placed on his face, but that was it.

"You really don't remember?" Sam asked, amazed. She recalled the meeting between them every day.

"Sam, I love you," Danny told her as he took her hands in his. "It doesn't matter how we met, but we did. I met you at college and you apparently met me a fairytale, but either way, here we are."

Sam smiled, and agreed. It didn't really matter how they met, as long as they had._****_

'Cause we were both young when I first saw you


End file.
